Without the ability to bill the federal health programs for services rendered, the hospital had no choice but to close, said Dr. Manoj Prasad, whose Resilience Healthcare owns Weiss. <\/p>\n
Prasad said he is working with legislators to reopen the hospital and save West Suburban Medical Center, which he also own. But some critics \u2014 including Uptown area elected officials \u2014 say Weiss\u2019 closure is because of Prasad\u2019s cost-cutting style of management, amid other criticisms. <\/p>\n
\u2018We Couldn\u2019t Even Buy A Bottle Of Tylenol\u2019<\/p>\n
Prasad announced Friday that he was working with state legislators to appeal the federal health insurance decision \u2014 a process that could take up to a year with no certainty of success.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1016-1024x768.jpg\")
A closing sign posted outside Weiss Memorial Hospital, 4646 N. Marine Dr., Aug. 8, 2025. Credit: Charles Thrush\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n
Resilience could also re-apply for its Medicare and Medicaid license with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Prasad said at a Friday press conference. Both strategies would require implementing changes recommended by state surveyors.<\/p>\n
Last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid told Weiss it was being\u00a0removed from the health insurance programs<\/a>\u00a0after investigators found it was not in compliance with three conditions: nursing services, physical environment and emergency services. Investigators highlighted nursing shortages in the emergency department as one of their concerns.<\/p>\n Weiss\u2019 removal from the health insurance programs came a month after its air conditioning failed<\/a>, causing the hospital to refuse new patients and send existing patients to other medical facilities, including West Suburban, which is currently undergoing repairs for its own malfunctioning heating and cooling system, Prasad said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to make sure that we comply with everything that is needed, but given the 113 year-old-building [at West Suburban] and the 76-year-old building [at Weiss], that is not an easy task,\u201d Prasad said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to take a lot of funding, which we don\u2019t have.\u201d<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s press conference was Prasad\u2019s first time speaking publicly since federal regulators told him of Weiss\u2019 removal from the program July 24 \u2014 a result of Resilience not being able to \u201cafford a press person,\u201d Prasad said. <\/p>\n Funding has long been a challenge for Resilience, which acquired Weiss and West Suburban for $92 million<\/a> in late 2022 to \u201cnarrowly avoid a shutdown\u201d after former owners Pipeline Healthcare left the hospital pair in an \u201cimpossible state\u201d and ran a $50 million yearly deficit, Prasad said. Prasad was Weiss\u2019 second owner in three years. <\/p>\n \u201cWe couldn\u2019t even buy a bottle of Tylenol the first few weeks we were open,\u201d he said. \u201cNo one has wanted to lend any money to us, so we\u2019ve had to fight and figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n The hospitals were granted safety-net status in 2023 with the help of state lawmakers, meaning Resilience could get federal funding through the Medicare and Medicaid programs, but were seen as \u201clow priority\u201d facilities by the state, who allocates the funds, Prasad alleged.<\/p>\n \u201cSomehow, we\u2019ve managed to break even,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Medicare payments made up nearly 65 percent of Weiss\u2019 inpatient revenues in 2024, according to the most\u00a0recent data collected by the state.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Last week, Resilience applied for a $10 million loan from an undisclosed lender that would help fund West Suburban\u2019s operations, but the firm was denied, Prasad said.<\/p>\n Prasad warned that West Suburban\u2019s fate could be the same as Weiss\u2019 if funds aren\u2019t drawn up soon.<\/p>\n \u2018He\u2019s Kind Of An Elon Guy\u2019<\/p>\n Neighbors and officials staged a rally outside Weiss Friday, calling for the hospital\u2019s temporary reinstatement to the federal health programs while issues \u2014 including ownership \u2014 are sorted out. <\/p>\n Many at the rally, including former hospital employees, accused Prasad of \u201cmismanagement\u201d of the facility. But they are urging the federal government to keep the hospital open for the benefit of the facility\u2019s over 700 employees and hundreds of returning patients reliant on its services, advocates and officials said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have seen mismanagement over and over and over again from the current CEO of this hospital,\u201d state Rep. Hoan Huynh said at the rally. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen over and over again the lack of care for our nurses, for our doctors, for our patients. The CEO has stripped away this hospital to its bare bones.\u201d<\/p>\n Huynh, state Sen. Mike Simmons and Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th) each urged the CEO to face accountability at Friday\u2019s rally. The legislators co-signed a letter to the Medicare Services administration calling on the federal government to give Weiss an eight-week extension before removing the hospital from the programs. <\/p>\n They hope that time will allow them to find a way to meet federal standards while keeping the hospital open, according to the letter. But to meet those standards, \u201cadministrative changes\u201d would have to be made to the hospital, Huynh said.<\/p>\n In a Friday press release, Uptown Ald. Angela Clay (46th) echoed that sentiment.<\/p>\n \u201cWeiss\u2019 ownership ignored violation after violation that put their federal funding in jeopardy without communicating to local officials or staff,\u201d Clay said. \u201cThey were informed weeks ago that the hospital would have to close, and yet they didn\u2019t take any actions to inform the community.\u201d<\/p>\n Resilience defended itself from much of the criticism in a lengthy statement released to the press.<\/p>\n \u201cResilience Healthcare has faced both overwhelming challenges and unfair criticism,\u201d the statement read. \u201cWhat we would ask our numerous critics to understand is the dire situation we had to step into in December of 2022 when no one else was willing to. Without help from external lenders, we stepped forward and dedicated all our resources to save two community hospitals that were about to close.\u201d<\/p>\n Weiss employees have long complained about a lack of transparency in leadership at the facility. Daniel Maser, a former emergency room nurse at Weiss, alleged that there had been \u201cno communication\u201d between himself and higher-ups as the hospital\u2019s closure approached.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve watched decisions be made by the upper administration that shows they have no intent to actually make Weiss a successful and functional hospital,\u201d Maser said.<\/p>\n Maser and other nurses complained to management about staffing shortages to no avail, and reports of dirty bedsheets and pillowcases were rampant. One day, an undisclosed vendor \u201ccame in and took the linens right off the hospital beds,\u201d Maser said.<\/p>\n One former employee who preferred to stay anonymous alleged that Prasad \u201ccame in and fired people willy-nilly.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s kind of an Elon [Musk] guy,\u201d the employee said. \u201cHe treated the hospital like it was the [Department of Government Efficiency]. He\u2019s a capitalist. He\u2019d cut costs in every department and make everyone work twice as hard for the same amount of money, which no one liked.\u201d<\/p>\n During his conference, Prasad acknowledged that when Resilience took over Weiss and West Suburban, the company cut out excess costs for \u201cthings not really impacting patient care,\u201d which spurred \u201cretaliatory\u201d complaints from staff who were unhappy with the cuts or who \u201cdidn\u2019t get promotions.\u201d <\/p>\n Weiss\u2019 ownership in 2021\u00a0sold off a hospital parking lot<\/a>\u00a0for $8 million to a developer who then built a 300-unit apartment building on the site, a move that was protested by neighbors who even\u00a0camped out in the lot to stop the redevelopment of hospital grounds<\/a>. Neighbors involved in the encampment argued the sale signaled a lack of investment in the hospital\u2019s future and attended Friday\u2019s rally, warning a land acquisition could be on the horizon for the lakefront property.<\/p>\n When asked about the possibility of selling the shuttered medical facility off to developers, Prasad said that his priority lies in healthcare and he has no intentions of putting the hospital on the market.<\/p>\n Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UPTOWN \u2014 The owner of the now-closed Weiss Memorial Hospital is calling on the federal government to help…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":135414,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,1322,5386,1818],"class_list":{"0":"post-135413","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-chicago","9":"tag-featured","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-illinois"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115006821115696573","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/prasad-1024x682.png\")
Resilience Healthcare CEO Dr. Manoj Prasad addressing reporters alongside state Reps. La Shawn Ford and Camille Lilly, Aug. 8, 2025. Credit: Charles Thrush\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/031825-West-Suburban-Medical-Center-Colin-Boyle-6616-1024x682.jpg\")
West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, across the street from Chicago\u2019s Austin neighborhood, on March 18, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_0962-1024x768.jpg\")
State rep. Hoan Huynh stands among community organizers to rally for Weiss Memorial Hospital to stay open. Aug. 7, 2025. Credit: Charles Thrush\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/rally-weiss-1024x682.png\")
A rally hosted by elected officials, former staff and community activists calling on the federal government to save Weiss Memorial Hospital, 4646 N. Marine Dr., and for CEO Manoj Prasad to face accountability, Aug. 8, 2025. Credit: Charles Thrush\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n